[Marco82]

I was in Amsterdam once when they were having these celebrations - they had loads of little guys 'blacked up' throwing sweets to all the kids. I didnt have a clue what was going on - it seemed well fucked up!

Some explanation about the "black slaves" as Robert called them. The story goes that Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) helpers (zwarte Pieten/ black Petes) are black because they represent the Moors that lived in Spain and Portugal a couple of hundred years ago. Apart from the three weeks a year that he is in the Netherlands, Sinterklaas lives in Spain, so that's the link between the two. Why he lives in Spain is something that nobody really knows, because Saint Nicholas was the bishop of Myra (part of modern day Turkey) and his relics are in Bari (Italy).

Another story that goes around is that the zwarte Pieten are black because they have to go through the chimneys to put presents in childrens shoes.

Here some explanation about the whole Sinterklaas/ Saint Nicholas thing for those who are interested but can't be arsed to google it up